WHO Says No Signs Of Ebola Slowing, While Liberian President Says Outbreak Might Be ‘In Decline’

Oct 09, 2014

News outlets report on the latest WHO data showing confirmed Ebola cases and deaths. While the agency says there is no sign of the epidemic slowing, Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf told Reuters there are signs the disease might be “in decline” in that country.

Al Jazeera: WHO says no signs spread of Ebola is slowing
“The Ebola outbreak shows no signs of abating, has killed 3,879 people, and threatens more Western African nations poorly equipped to deal with the disease, the World Health Organization has said in a report. The U.N.’s health authority said on Wednesday that a total of 8,033 people had caught the infection up to October 5, and 3,879 of those had died. Liberia and Sierra Leone, the two worst-hit nations, had less than a quarter of the beds needed…” (10/9).

Reuters: Exclusive: Liberian leader sees signs Ebola in decline but aid too slow
“International aid to battle the Ebola epidemic in Liberia is arriving too slowly, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said on Wednesday, though she said there were early signs that the outbreak in her West African country might be ‘in decline.’ On a tour of the villages of remote northern Liberia, Johnson Sirleaf told Reuters that she wanted to give her people hope that the virus could be beaten, though the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Wednesday there was no evidence yet the epidemic was being brought under control…” (Flynn, 10/8).